Tag Archives: parrots are a lot of work

I think the biggest mistake any parrot owner can make is thinking your parrot is a pretty ornament. Sometimes we don’t realize how much “work” owning a parrot is but “Work” is exactly what it is. I love my birdies just like my own children but one day my children will grow up and leave me. My feathered friends do not have that option unless it’s through death. It truly is a “Til death do we part” relationship or unless the parrot owner decides to give up on that relationship.

The work I put into my parrots is time-consuming, tiring, brain-stimulating but for me it’s rewarding. I stress “for me” because what I see as being worthy you may not. When I see a parrot change their hesitation towards me, it brings joy to my heart ex: a parrot who you can’t get to step up or do anything you ask it to suddenly decides to let you pet them all over or starts stepping up every time makes me happy. Makes me know all my time and effort wasn’t in vain, it is being received.

Parrot work isn’t instant. It’s trial and error and it requires a lot of patience. Patience is something I truly lack but having parrots is teaching me how to deal with it. I’m always looking to learn more, blog more and keep putting information out there as I come across it because I feel people really need to understand EXACTLY what is the commitment when owning a parrot. Unfortunately, it is not an easy task.

Curiosity, love and a cage with food and water are just not enough to keep a parrot happy. Trust me, I’m almost 10 years in and I’ve made LOTS of mistakes along the way. I’ve also lost a few parrots who never even entered old age. A parrot dying young is hard for me because of the fact that I automatically blame myself and it takes me a while to get over that lost because they aren’t ornaments, they are my family. So a parent’s parrot work is NEVER done!!

You are born, taking care of, SOLD and moved to a new home. You will probably be experiencing some anxiety, nervousness, excitement all while being scared. You get to your new location and BAM they put you in a four wall room with bars, never to release you again…. What will happen to you?

Let’s break this down for a second, first you are born. Whether it is in a hospital, in your home or wherever, point being a birth has to happen. This is the same for parrots and humans.

Next, you are taking care of by a parent who feeds you. Maybe this is by breast milk, formula or some sort of supplement, but you need to receive nourishment to survive. This is the same for parrots and humans.

Now the part you are probably wondering about is being “sold”. For some of us this never happens, we get to grow up with our parents and move out when we mature and can handle our own. So we will never know the feeling of our “parents” giving us away however some people do experience this via adoption or abandonment. I know when I was growing up, finding babies in dumpsters or staircases was a topic on the news. Parrot mothers may give up on their offspring also for whatever reason, they will stop feeding them, caring for them or just kill them. Now unfortunately within the human species, we also have mothers and fathers who kill their children. All in all, I rather be sold, if I can’t be loved. But the type of “selling” that I know of is either trafficking or when colored people were being sold as slaves. Again, if parrots are born in captivity then they will also be sold to a new owner.

After being sold comes the transition process of moving to a new home. Whether it is a voluntary move or an involuntary move, the fact is, there is a move. So kids who have been adopted, baby parrots that are sold and people who kill are moved to their new homes. Now for a child who has been adopted, we pray that they are going to a place that is comfortable, welcoming and wonderful overall. For a baby parrot we pray for the same. For the people who have forgotten their purpose to provide and protect their children, we pray that they get the help they need and live out the rest of their lives behind bars. The issue I present here, is a parrot being moved to a new home to live out its life behind bars. It did not commit murder, it did not lie, steal or do anything that should cause it to be incarcerated, so why should it have to deal with this punishment? Those parrots are screaming “I don’t deserve to be in Jail!”

My understanding of the reasons of incarceration is to rehabilitate the prisoner to eventually be able to transition back into society as a new model citizen. Why would an innocent baby parrot have to be exposed to the same faith?

Maybe its lack of knowledge on the owner’s part but ignorance is not acceptable. Maybe the parrot is displaying behavioral issues, does that mean if you have a child who has a disorder, would it be safe to say they would be exposed to the same type of confinement? NO, it is not okay!!

If humans can go “crazy” by being stuck in a 4 wall room day in and day out. Why wouldn’t a parrot who has the intellectual level of a toddler suffer the same faith?? I know sometimes we don’t think of these things, we just think “hey, they would be cute to have”. Not thinking about the work, effort, time or the parrot’s value of life.

A parrot’s cage is their home just like your house is your home. You clean it, cook, eat, sleep and play in your house, well a parrot does the same thing in its house. Do you need to leave your house to visit friends, buy groceries or just need time out of the house?? Well, your parrot needs the same thing. Do you re-arrange your house from time to time? Well, your parrot needs the same thing.

If you neglect the parrot’s home, it can get sick just like you can get sick from an untidy place. If you never leave the confinements of your house, chances are you will suffer from a mental breakdown. Your parrot can go through the same issues. Feather plucking and screaming are just a few ways that an isolated parrot may release its frustrations.

So many comparisons between human and parrots. We all have similarities, so humans don’t want to grow up in jail….Therefore your parrot does not deserve to be in jail!

Do unto others as you would like them to do onto you.

Please do not neglect and leave your parrots in cages all day. Their intellectual level may surprise you. That is why here at Parenting Parrots, we urge you to think of your parrot as your toddler because you and your parrot will have a better relationship and life together just by thinking of this simple thing: “I’m a parent to a toddler just in parrot form”.